Tag: team

How many times have you heard that great piece of strategic advice? I am sure I have heard it over a hundred times in my lifetime but to be honest, it didn’t resonate with me until it came from Sir Richard Branson (founder of the Virgin Group, which controls more than 400 companies). Fact is anytime a “Sir” says something, people tend to listen with a little more interest and I did! It’s only a 13 second video but here it is… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoXhoZjkUVY

So, first and foremost, far be it for me to disagree with a guy who has enjoyed the success Sir Richard has enjoyed. In fact, I do agree with him. Faking it til you make it makes sense when you are in an “attack the learning curve” frame of mind. If you are entering an on-ramp and exiting at the next off ramp then all is good. The challenge of faking til you make it lies in the fact that we are all creatures of habit and we all have a knack of making the art of faking it a habit.

Settling for something that is mediocre is normal human nature. We see something we want, understand it takes a lot of effort and time to get it and then decide to settle for something else that is not exactly the level of the other thing, but it will do. We have all experienced it. We are creatures of habit and the more comfortable the habit the harder it is to break. The multi-million dollar self help industry is born from this reality. That is the trap.

We beat ourselves up because we are not the next Roger Federer, Oprah Winfrey, J.K. Rowling, Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk or Ellen DeGeneres. Sure they are all successful but its not like the clouds opened up when they were born and some higher power declared them destined for greatness. At one time they woke up believing that on that day they would change their world. We all do the same. We wake up poised to change the world and then by 9 am we have run out of gas, and opted to reverse our energy and put off to tomorrow what we could have done today.

Annie: ...so you see in a former lifetime I’m sure I was Alexandria, the Czarette of Russia. What do you think?

Crash: How come in former lifetimes everybody was someone famous? How come nobody ever says they were Joe Shmo?

Nobody wants to be Joe or Jill Shmo but the majority of us are because we become competent fakers. We are indeed special but if becoming a star or maintaining your stardom requires an effort, the sheen from our star often fades.

The reality is we will endure more failed missions than successful ones. Life is inconvenient. How we managed that inconvenience will determine our success. What we do when it’s time to fight or take flight determines whether we are special. In that critical moment when we find ourselves in the fake it til we make it mode, we take off like a sprinter and soon slow down to sloth speed. We rationalize and negotiate with ourselves. No matter the outcome, you are guaranteed to win that negotiation. If you choose to battle then you will battle. If you choose to procrastinate then you will indeed procrastinate. You are guaranteed a victory when you negotiate with yourself.It may not be the best case scenario but it is a victory nonetheless.

Like an athlete building muscle memory, when we consistently opt for the “fake it til ya make it” approach you will soon get used to faking it! Before you know it…the faking becomes your reality. Your original destination was the express lane but some how you got stuck in the collector lane.

I am often struck by the galleries that follow professional golfers. As great as the golfers are I often wonder how many in the gallery are wondering if they could have been the one inside the ropes competing rather than on the outside cheering, if they had just focused on attacking the learning curve when they took up the game of golf. Did they opt to “fake it” and then got comfortable faking it to the point that it became the comfortable threshold of their learning experience? They learned enough to survive on the course but chose not to develop an expertise that would have allowed them to strive on the course? Is the margin for error that slim? They could have been the man but now they are shouting, “You the man!” from the periphery. Now, not everyone of them can hit a ball 350 yards or park an approach shot like a valet parking a Ferrari in New York City but isn’t the victory found in the act of trying?

I played professional football. Now, before the trumpets resound and the crowds cheers, it was the Canadian Football League and I made $33,000 before taxes my rookie year. this after being drafted 9th overall! In college I was able to fake it. I had no idea what defense the opponent played. I had no idea about their tendencies or what they were trying to accomplish. I was getting away with being the better athlete.

That changed when I I was drafted by Saskatchewan. When my name was called, I walked up on stage to meet Bill Baker. He was the teams GM and as a former player he was given the nickname of “the Undertaker”. As we shook hands he said, “Welcome to the Saskatchewan Roughriders, you are now a free safety!”. WTF! WTF! I am a free safety. I just played 3 years of college football and without wanting to brag, I had built a pretty good resume. I was a 2x All-Canadian, conference all start, conference MVP, conference Rookie of the Year etc. I was a pretty good receiver! Yet, they drafted Jeff Fairholm (U. of Arizona) 2nd overall. So, I am now a free safety. I could have faked it in training camp and returned to school but I was done with university life and quite frankly, I think the university may have been done with me as well!

I wanted to play pro football so badly that faking it was not an option. I had to go into attack mode! By avoiding the trap of faking it I was able to learn and in turn compete at a smarter and faster level. Eventually, I was traded to the Ottawa Rough Riders and shifted back to receiver. Talk about looking at the game from a completely different perspective. Everything made sense. I understood the chess game within the game.

When I left football I had no idea what I wanted to do but you would have thought I would have learned some life lessons along the way!

I signed up for a computer programming course at the local technical college. The world of I.T. where I lived was considered Silicone Valley North and there were tons of opportunities available. I spent a year and $17k to learn that I hated computer programming. The suit didn’t fit. I faked it and did not make it! Ironically, I went back to football and when I did I immediately realized that it didn’t fit me anymore as well. Rather than tap out, I faked it for a year, made some money and re-calibrated my exit strategy.

So, faking it is an option but it only way bears value when it is a transitory step in your strategy.

Faking it until you make it only works if you are intent on getting out of the faking it lane as fast as you can. It works only if it is a layover between where you were and your next destination. No one wants to spend time at Newark International Airport, Kennedy or LaGuardia! They are hubs that lead to greater adventures.

So, how do we avoid the fake it til you make it trap?

What does it mean to you? We are all going to spend our time doing something. We look with envy at those around us who seem to be doing what they actually want to do. Who knows if they actually are? They may be full of crap, living the pretend Facebook perfect life. Who knows? I do know that if what you choose to do means something to you, you are more apt to go the extra mile. The art of developing your expertise and the energy that surrounds that effort transcends any need to fake it. The will to dig in is genuine. If you are invested you are a sponge. If you are a fence sitter you are a stone.

Game plan. Have a clear and concise exit strategy. Have a game plan that features hard and fast deadlines that will force you to get to the next level. Put some pressure on yourself to compete. Don’t get comfortable. Set incremental goals and don’t waver from them. If you are close to satisfying them then great. You have the option to give yourself some extra time. If you are nowhere near the neighborhood of satisfying the goals then you may want to ask yourself the “is this really for me?” question.

Be realistic. Set goals that you can reach. Expertise does not come in one fell swoop, its incremental and modular in nature. I remember back in grade 3 when I convinced my parents to buy me a geometry set. I vowed I would use every item in the case. I would use both of the set squares, I would protract with the 180° protractor, I would rule the class with the 15 cm ruler, I would never get lost thanks to the metal compass, and so on with the 9 cm pencil, pencil sharpener, eraser and the 10 mm stencil. As expected, I did not use all of them…in fact I barely used any of them.

Find another fake it til you make it adventure: If the suit doesn’t fit then don’t wear the suit. Find something that fits or comes close to fitting. There is nothing wrong with moving from one challenge that may not fit you to another that may fit you. Life offers very few absolutes. Finding what is worth your time is an imperfect science.

Faking it until you make it should be a very uncomfortable comfort zone experience. At the end of the day, the goal is to create your own right time and right place.

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Ken Evraire is an award-winning leadership coach and team builder, a talent specialist with Cistel Technology in Ottawa, Canada and is a former professional athlete.

“I could while away the hours, conferring with the flowers, consulting with the rain. And my head I’ll be scratching, while my thoughts were busy hatching, if I only had a brain.”

Friday evening…B.C. Place, Vancouver, B.C.

Somewhere in the red zone (between the 20-yard line and the goal line). I woke up to Dr. Mark Aubry looking down at me.

I asked him what happened? He told me I got hit!

“No shit I got hit!”.

I could hear voices. I could taste blood. I could hear the opposing players arguing with the officials about their ruling it was indeed a catch and not a fumble. I could hear the crowd responding to the replay of the hit on the big screen. I always wondered what an “audible gasp” sounded like. Now I knew.

I had a couple of teammates telling me to hang in there. Who they specifically were I couldn’t tell you.

I remember it all like it happened this morning which is odd because it happened back in the fall of 1990.

I had always assumed that you would not remember anything after getting knocked out, but I did.

A few moments earlier I was exiting the huddle after QB Damon Allen called the play. The play called for me to run a 12-15 yard hook route on the right side of the line of scrimmage. I went through my usual pre-snap checks and balances. What is the body language of the defensive back covering me? Would he play man or zone? Would he play press coverage? Would he blitz? I caught the strong side linebacker peeking my way which told me he was looking to cheat in his drop to his zone. I was not surprised what with it being an obvious passing situation. Just to be sure, I tracked the free safety. Where he lines up often dictates the defense you will see.

On this occasion, he was playing at depth (about 15-17 yards away and in the middle of the field) which told me he was going to drop deeper to defend against any deep passes.

Based on all of the variables, I had a good sense that I was going to get the ball.

As I took off on my route, my first steps widened me away from the SAM linebacker in a bid to avoid his trying to bump me off my route. I knew that once I got passed him I could settle at 12-14 yards in a window between him and the middle linebacker. It was a route I had run a million times during my career. I was confident. Maybe too confident! I got to depth, settled down and gave Damon a target. This was simple pitch and catch! He delivered a dime hitting me right in the middle of my jersey numbers with the pass. I was all set to take off up field in a bid to gain some extra yardage…then BOOM!

The last thing I saw were brown eyes. The very same brown eyes belonging to free safety Robin Belanger. The very Robin Belanger that had I failed to notice cheating up on coverage as the play unfolded. Safe to assume I noticed as soon as he sent me into la-la land!

*Of note, I only knew it was Robin Belanger after I watched the game film a couple of days later!

After Dr. Aubry established that I had been knocked out, I miraculously sat up, yet was wary of the news that was about to come, because I knew something was not right. I felt like I had gotten run over by a truck! I asked him what the damage was.

He replied, “Separated shoulder, a broken nose, a few teeth had pierced your lower lip and you likely have a concussion.”.

All were injuries I would recover from. It’s not like I blew out my knee (which I did in 1993). I didn’t think twice about making a recovery and getting back on the field. The concussion didn’t even trigger an element of fear or doubt.

“With the thoughts I’d be thinking, I could be another Lincoln, if I only had a brain.”

Yes, I was done for the day. In hindsight, it was also the day I subconsciously decided that I would play the game safe.

It was not the first time I was knocked out and thanks to a combination of forces (an ability to catch punts and being on a bad team) it would not be the last.

The first knockout took place in Ottawa when we hosted the Toronto Argos. I ran a shallow crossing route and saw the LB on the other side of the field drop back into zone. Cool, I would just gear down in the space he vacated and all would be good. Yet, that was not just any linebacker. It was all-star Ben Zambiasi. He was a former Georgia Bulldog, tougher than nails and sly…very sly. I had heard stories about Zambiasi but as a young, seemingly invincible fool, I chose not to give any of those stories credence. That I regret…a lot. I didn’t see him but I sure felt and heard him. As I geared down, I looked to the QB and it was in that moment the lights went out. Zambiasi had dropped a few steps then torpedoed me and I was sent ass over tea-kettle. The wind was knocked out of me but rather than panic, everything was oddly calm…almost surreal. The best way to describe it may be he hit my Control-Alt-Delete button. I knew I was hurt but not injured. I could hear Zambiasi arguing with the ref that I had ran into him but I couldn’t see anything! I tried turning the lights on by opening my eyes and closing them over again but nothing. I know I scared the crap out of my teammates what with their looking down at me and watching me blink my eyes over and over again! Odd thing is, I did not leave the game. I missed a couple of plays but continued to play. There was no “how many fingers?” questions. I was asked how I felt and I said great! I wanted to compete.

(Funny thing is Ben Zambiasi was on the coaching staff when I joined the Hamilton Tiger Cats. My fondest memory was his plotting to steal the team bus after a season ending loss in Edmonton. I was an eager recruit but regrettably, the mission failed.)

The third time I got knocked out was in San Antonio, Texas. As a member of the Ottawa Rough Riders, we traveled there from Memphis as part of a 2 city road trip. By then, I was trying to recover from a surgically repaired torn ACL, just finishing out the string! Truth is, I never completely recovered. My knee doesn’t completely bend. The knee cap was bogged down with scar tissue despite my going in to have it cleaned on 4 separate occasions! I was holding on to the game and was a mere shadow of my former self. Life beyond the game scared me. During my recovery, I enrolled in a Computer Programming Diploma Program at CDI College, even though there was nothing about me that screamed computer programming. Everyone was seemingly in computers and they were making money doing it. Why couldn’t I? Sure, I wasn’t passionate about it but I was in survival mode. So much so that I returned to what was in essence, an abusive relationship that was not good for me. Like they say, “It’s better to dance with the devil you know than the one you don’t know”, and I knew football. All for $55,000 before taxes!

Did I mention we were not a very good football team? So much so, that the coach in his infinite wisdom had me return punts. Now, I was never a burner to begin with but as luck would have it I was one of the few on the team that could catch a punt which is all that I was asked to do. Why? Because every time we lined up on punt return we tried to block the damn thing. Great idea if it works but bad for me if it doesn’t. If we are going for the block, I have next to no blockers available to help me out. It just made sense what with our being a bad football team, that we would be fail miserably in the category of “blocked punts”.

I swear I could hear the Texans punter Roman Anderson laughing before he punted one my way. It was in the Alamo Dome so tracking the ball was challenging to say the least. His hitting the ball about 9 kilometers up didn’t help either. By the time the ball came down and was caught, I was surrounded by the Texans punt cover team. I utilized the old “duck and cover” technique which fared well until the 2nd quarter. As luck would have it Texans FB Tony Burse, all 6 ft. 220 lbs. of hurt, figured out my strategy. He whacked me pretty good. There were 2 sounds…him hitting me and my hitting the turf. This time the lights went out and back on quickly. Just a flash! I immediately regained my focus but in that moment, completely lost my will to play. That was when I decided I would retire at the end of the season. I also decided I was not going to return punts or play football for that matter on that day. The trainer pulled me from the game. I went to the locker room, showered, took a couple of pain killers and then drank a few beers on the team bus while listening to the rest of the game with the bus driver. He was pretty chatty and I had nothing to say.

“I would not be just a nothing, my head all full of stuffin, my heart all full of pain. I would dance and be merry, life would be a ding-a-derry. If I only had a brain.”

So, I am giving away my brain. It may be the only thing worth giving away once everything is said and done. I have had 2 cardiac ablations for an atrial fibrillation issue. My back and hips are stiffer than a Regina wind storm and my memory is starting to go.

I am a father to 3 wonderful, precocious children. I have a wonderful, patient partner in Pamela, who has gone to hell and back with me. I have been impatient, moody, confused and frightened. I have also avoided seeking help for fear that there is some real damage. Again, another example of my dancing with the devil I knew versus the one I don’t know.

I am sharing my story because by going public, I have intentionally forced my hand.

I have chosen to share my story because I have decided to seek help. I have decided to avoid the trap of thinking I am invincible, that I am okay and that I am being brave by “manning up”, by not doing anything.

If I didn’t have kids, I probably would not be seeking help. Picking yourself up and pretending you are okay and getting back into the game is not an act of bravery. Asking for help is.

I would have continued to live in the silence. To simply exist but my kids need me. Elijah, Summer and Nate need me. Pamela Joy needs me.

I am not regretful. I grew up in Lebreton Flats and spent hours at the Boys and Girls Club. We did not have much besides big dreams and great parents. My dad, Ken Sr., played minor league baseball with Pete Rose and Ritchie Allen. My mom, Paulette, was and still is our Rock of Gibraltar.

I knew as soon as my dad lifted me up on to the ticket box outside Lansdowne Park so I could see one half of the field as the Rough Riders played the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, football would be my way out.

With that said, as much as I loved the game, Pamela and I will have plenty of discussions regarding our kids and their playing contact sports.

Here’s the rub in all of this. I have no idea if what I just shared made sense. I guess that is yet another reason I have decided to donate my brain. They will likely find nothing (pardon the pun!).

Gosh, it would be awful pleasin, to reason out the reason, for things I can’t explain. Then perhaps I’ll deserve your and be even worthy of you.If I only had a brain!

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Ken Evraire is an award-winning leadership coach and team builder. As a former professional athlete, he has learned from great coaches and learned even more from the bad ones!

It was the summer of 2001. Team Canada’s Olympic training camp began in Ottawa at Ottawa U. A who’s who of media types were on hand including yours truly (who was not part of the who’s who club!).

I took a seat in the front row of the press room like a kid looking forward to the first day of school. I was going to get straight A’s this year! Honor roll here I come! This one was going on my demo tape!

The Team Canada Olympic Team brass entered the room and made their way to the stage and after a brief review of press conference instructions from the media rep, the floor was opened for questions and, like everyone else in the room, I raised my hand.

As luck would have it, I was selected first. I had a great question for Team Canada Executive Director, Wayne Gretzky. I was going to set the tone! With one question I was going to trigger an in-depth, thought provoking, life changing, symbiotic dialogue between The Great One (TGO) and Kenneth Russell Joseph Simon Maurice Evraire Jr. (KRJSMAJ)! A question that would lead to a lifelong friendship. He would call me by my nickname (Cowboy) and I would call him Gretzk or Wayner! All because I had a question that no one in the room would have thought of but would all would go on to poach for their stories.

Boy, was I wrong! On all counts!

I asked, “With a roster filled with star players, the worlds best, will it be difficult for some of them to adjust to 3rd line and 4th line roles and less ice time?”.

He pondered my question for a millisecond then responded, “No, they are the best players in the world and if they can’t adjust, they wouldn’t be here.”

Ta-da! There it was. Short and sweet. Nothing more, nothing less!

The media relations guy took the mic from me and gave me a look that reminded me of the Soup Nazi character in the series Seinfeld. “No more questions for you!”. I could almost hear the rest of the media throng mumbling “what an idiot!”. Back to media 101 summer school for me!

All I could do was sit there and pretend I was completely intrigued with all of the other questions and answers shared during the presser, when in truth, I just wanted to get the heck out of there! Time just seemed to slow down! I was pissed. I was pissed because, one, I thought I had a great question, two, I thought it warranted a longer answer and three, I thought..no wait, I knew The Great One was wrong! I had been in a room filled with pro athletes before. Adaptation and the ability to change is key to any success.

My football instincts were telling me to crack back block the crap out of WAYNER when he left the stage. (Wayner…what a dumb-ass nickname!). Yep, the solution was to just ear-hole his hockey playing, Jofa helmet wearing, frosted hair tips attitude then and there. Dave Semenko isn’t around to protect you now pal! Call Mark Messier and I will call Darren Joseph. Shout out to Marty McSorley, I will make a toll-free call to Glenn Kulka!

If you google search “football player ear-holes the greatest hockey player ever” you won’t find anything because after taking a couple of deep breaths, I chose to take the high road and keep my emotions in check. Why? Because I knew I was right. Talent doesn’t always win out. The ability to adapt does.

It took some time (approx. 6 months) but I was eventually proven right.

On February 18, 2002, Gretzky lashed out at the media at a press conference, frustrated with media and fan comments regarding his team’s uninspiring 1–1–1 start in pre-Olympic Games exhibition play. He would go on to say his rant was designed to protect his team as they adjusted and worked to become a gold medal winning team.

I jest when saying The Great One lied to me but the fact of the matter is, any roster including a team made up of the world’s greatest players, needs time to adjust to new roles. Head Coach Pat Quinn had to find those players within this all-star roster willing to change their game. He had to find a new set of strengths within a number of players that would translate into success. As good as the players were, Quinn and his staff had to do some serious coaching. Team Canada didn’t just show up and dominate. They had to earn their title of Olympic Champion the hard way. I think that is part of the reason why the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic Games gold medal meant so much to so many and continues to, to this day.

Every team will need to adjust….it’s inevitable. This truth applies to sports teams, small businesses all the way through to Fortune 500 companies.

When watching a best of 7 playoff series be it in hockey, basketball, baseball etc, the ability to overcome the physical challenges combined with being able to counter punch from a strategic perspective is everything. The margin for error is far greater in the playoffs versus a regular season game because the teams see each other every second night. The differences between the teams become so finite thanks to the in-depth understanding of the opposition. The same applies to the business sector. Everyone is competing for their piece of the pie. The tide can turn at any time. Being able to adapt is key.

No matter how talented your team is, the need to adapt and overcome, the need to expect and accept evolving roles in a bid to succeed as a team is all part of the experience.

Coach Up!

Ken Evraire is an award-winning leadership coach and team builder. As a former professional athlete, he has learned from great coaches and learned even more from the bad ones! When not coaching up, he is busy producing documentaries and chasing his 3 precocious children!

I recently posted an invitation to leaders from all walks to consider kenevraire.com as a team building reward or maybe a kick-start for their team. One reader made this comment…

I have to disagree. Unless the reward is further education or training. Rewards are earned based on performance. If your employees are not provided with the tools, training and, education to be able to perform better, then your rewards program is going to fail.

So I replied with the following…

Thank you for your comment. I agree that further education and training is a great reward in a bid to elevate individual competencies but from a team perspective, the focus should be on “group” growth. I remember practising with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on what felt like the hottest day of summer. Guys were competing on the field for more playing time, for a greater role within the game plan but the turning point of practice and perhaps the season came when the coach stopped practice and opened up coolers filled with popsicles. Yes, it was only frozen sugared water on a stick but it brought the team together. The coach didn’t have to do it, but in one small gesture, he rallied the team and made the entire professional football experience quite “personal”. I remember sitting down with teammates from Tampa FL, Compton CA, Rochester NY, Winnipeg MB, Toronto On, and other places throughout North America, relaxing during what was a shared experience. Thanks to moments like the popsicle break, I was willing to go through the wall for them because I cared about them. I was going to show up early for work stay late and find a way to succeed because I knew they would do the same.

This morning, I woke up feeling compelled to expand on my position.

The cool, trendy thing in corporate culture today is the celebration of “the team”. Truth is since the 70’s, business leaders have come to the realization that decision making should not be reserved for a few. Decision making was not the providence of a couple of voices in window view offices on the top floor. The expectation that the rest of the company as a whole should follow faithfully without a say, had begun to change. The value of input, the value of acknowledging that there is indeed an “I” in team – the invested, inspired, initiative-taking individual was a turning point.

Today companies have foosball tables, in-house daycare, open concept layouts etc. all in a bid to inspire and connect the human spirit found within the team.

Back to that hot July day in Hamilton.

I remember the team struggling and guys were not in a great mood. We had to bus up to a high school field located on the escarpment in Hamilton which was a pain the gluteus maximus.

As per life in the Canadian Football League, there were a couple of new faces competing for jobs, unhappy veterans who felt they were not getting their playing time, upstart players who wanted more playing time. Everyone was competing for a paycheck. The pressure was enormous but the fact is, it was just another Tuesday for us! It was just another regular day filled with competition.

The special part of the experience was the unspoken understanding that each man, though uber competitive and fighting for a job, would do all he could to help the team win. No one man was greater than the team and its goals. It was about the team for the star players, for the back-ups and for the practice roster players.

Yet, how do get a group of high testosterone, high energy individuals to buy in?

The coach could share an inspirational pre-practice or pre-game speech and some guys would buy in and some wouldn’t. Some players tune out and some tune in! Yes, we get that we have to play hard, play smart and do all we could to win. We have been hearing that speech since our days playing kids football.

I have not heard a pre-game speech that could ever rival the popsicle break as a source of inspiration.

As mentioned, mid-practice saw an unscheduled time out. We wanted to get the practice over with but Coach John Gregory called us to the centre of the field. That’s when he told us to relax, not press too hard and that there was a lot of football to be played. Then he motioned to the training staff to bring out coolers filled with popsicles!

In the blink of an eye, the entire energy surrounding the team had changed. Everyone found shade, everyone shared and everyone cared.

I learned that LB Terry Wright (Temple University Owls) and I shared birthdays (July 17th), I watched John Motton (LB – University of Akron Zips) do an impression of DL Mike Jones (Brockport State Golden Eagles) watching plays on the Jumbotron in the Skydome while the defensive huddle moved downfield away from him. At one time, the Toronto Argonauts complained to the refs about his being too close to their huddle. They thought that he was trying to listen to their plays! From that moment on, Mike was known as Jumbotron!

Getting to know your teammates on a personal level is key to any team’s success. It is the foundation for success.

The “popsicle” moments make a team. The “popsicle” moments get the team through the tough times.

I can barely remember the scores of games but I can tell you that RB Archie Amerson (Northern Arizona University Lumberjacks) was the toughest player, pound for pound, I have ever seen on the football field. I can tell you that no one understood half the things WR Tony Champion (Tennessee-Martin University Skyhawks) said and that no one will ever forget any of WR Earl Winfield (North Carolina Tar Heels) stories, including the one about fellow UNC alumni member Michael Jordan giving Earl a pair of NBA rookie season Air Jordan shoes and how Earl decided to wear them when he went out to cut the grass!

I will never forget LB Tony Visco (Purdue Boilermakers), knowing he wasn’t going to make the team, calling his own number to blitz every play during a pre-season game, which pissed off defensive coordinator Joe Moss to no end. Who could forget watching game film in the dark and hearing Coach Moss’ dog (half-blind poodle named Sam), bumping into the furniture?

Spitball fights, nailing teammates shoes to their locker rooms, a father and son walking into a bathroom at a player autograph signing event to see C Dale Sanderson (University of Tennessee Volunteers) with no shirt on and Wally Zatylny, also with no shirt on, applying temporary tattoos to each other in advance of heading out to Tailgate Charlies for a few beers with teammates!

I love my teammates. I was willing to pay the price asked of football players because of how I felt about my teammates. Not because of a great pre-game speech!

When I left football I brought popsicle moments to other teams I was a part of, be it the news team at The New RO and A-Channel, the Ottawa Invaders or mu family!

Popsicle moments will make better teams.

Ken Evraire is an award-winning leadership coach and team builder. As a former professional athlete, he has learned from great coaches and learned even more from the bad ones!

Are you planning on leading a team anytime soon? Becoming a business leader? Team leader? Family leader? Perhaps you are already in the leadership thick of things as you read this post and are feeling a tad desperate.

Let’s begin with agreeing on one salient point. The kinetic energy that accompanies your becoming a leader can be exhilarating! Successful leaders have an instinctual desire to help others. To set the table for others to succeed is rewarding in and of itself. Being promoted to a position of leadership is a great honor.

The first caveman who brought fire to his clan likely took the time to give himself a pat on the back during a quiet moment as everyone slept warm and comfortable.

When asked to expand my role as Director of Fundraising / Marketing to Interim Executive Director at a small not- for-profit agency that had been deep in crisis, a part of me was thinking, “No way!” but the leader inside of me was thinking, “Yes, of course!”. I had only been with the agency for 8 months but I wanted to bring fire to my clan no matter how unwelcoming the team was to my promotion.

So back to you. Congratulations! You are now a CEO, new district manager, team captain, father or mother.

Almost everyone will pat you on the back. Congratulate you, wish you the best. Some will promise complete buy in. Some, not so much! Some want to sail with you…some are torpedo captains and they may have you in their sights.

Once the dust settles a series of realities will hit you!

First, you have taken on a great, vast, pressurized responsibility.

Second, for all that you thought you may know about leading a team, you actually don’t know that much. Sure, you have been mentored, you have a great set of parents who served as great role models through your life or you have been the assistant coach behind a legend and learned as much as you possibly could. That is not enough. Yes, it is the foundation of what sustains a soon to become great leader, but in the outset, it is nowhere near enough.

So what can you expect? What should you know? It all begins with Trust.

Trust

You may begin with a grade of A+ by virtue of your being the new boss, but that will change and if you do not work to earn the team’s trust, you will be quickly be facing a failing grade! You cannot inherit trust. Trust is not built overnight. To gain trust, a leader must be willing to go the distance…a leader must be genuine. Trust lies so deep within our being and the physiological response to giving it someone or having it betrayed is powerful! You can’t please everyone but by leading with integrity and professionalism, you can be trusted by everyone. The team may not agree with some of your decisions but they will follow thanks to the credit you have earned with them.

It’s a Marathon!

Any seasoned leader will tell you that there is no eye opening, eureka moment confirming you have figured things out. In fact, if you think you have come to one of those moments… if you think you have figured things out…get set for a big wake up call. You won’t decipher some secret leadership code and sail down easy street for the rest of your career! It is a marathon! The goal is the destination with a focused energy on overcoming the inevitable challenges that lie ahead. All NHL teams want to win the Stanley Cup but not one team on the circuit goes into the season without breaking up the schedule into manageable chapters with attainable goals. Winning 3 of 5 versus winning 55 of 82 is far more manageable. Be prepared to go the distance.

Communicate, Collaborate And Conquer!

If you get the chance to attend an elite level team sporting event, take a moment, close your eyes and just listen. Listen to the back and forth chatter! Any team that has its sight set on conquering the competition must be able to work as a collaborative and if memory serves correct, all great collaborations are founded in great communication. Silence is deadly! Silence leads to speculation and assumption. Talk about taking the expressway to creating negative space and courting inevitable failure! Communication and collaboration is all part of getting on the same page. If the entire team is on the same page the odds of success increase significantly. The first thing I teach aspiring quarterbacks, running backs and receivers at my football academy is that the most important time during the game is the 25 seconds between the play being called and the snap of the ball. By being on the same page you will be able to run the play with a high degree of competency and should the defense line up in a manner that would be detrimental to the play called, the quarterback can audible out of the original play and introduce a new play that will set them up to succeed. That same page, high level of competency allows a team to dictate terms. Staying a step ahead of the competition is the key to success. Sure, some teams that get lucky may win the odd time but those victories are few and far between. Syncopation equals success!

The Value of Time

Time is the most valuable commodity that we own regardless of where we are positioned on the hierarchical ladder at work. As a team leader never lose sight of the fact that people are spending a significant amount of their time at work. Yes, they get paid to do so but taking that for granted is a major leadership misstep. Some need the work, some love the job, some see the gig as a stepping stone to greater things. No matter the circumstance, being mindful of your team’s contribution from the perspective of time is crucial. If you want your team to go the extra mile, to put in the extra time…appreciate and value the investment from the perspective of time. Thank them for their contribution. It’s an investment that offers a high rate of return.

Ken Evraire is an award-winning leadership coach and team builder. As a former professional athlete, he has learned a from great coaches and learned even more from the bad ones!

So it’s late…and my wife is upstairs killing a slice of key lime pie. Better the pie than me!

To suggest that she is not pleased with me would be an understatement. We have enjoyed a great long weekend with the kids! As is always the case, our home started to look like a frat house after a good run during pledge week. This is what happens when we convince ourselves that we are a borderline bohemian family! I think we have adopted this lifestyle in a bid to justify our want to procrastinate! Truth is, our kids (Elijah 7, Summer 5 and Nate 4) are not bohemian but rather regular, normal kids who suffer from severe short term memory loss when we ask them to put their apple core’s in the compost, put their Mr. Freeze tubes in the garbage, not leave their BMX helmets in the middle of the doorway etc. If you have kids I apologize for preaching to the choir! You feel our pain!

Now, I was tired and a tad impatient which is not the best time to remind me that as the adults we may need to stop playing the role of entertainment director to our kids and begin preparing for what will be a very busy summer! Preparations began with attacking the in-house to-do list. A to-do list that I have been avoiding like an opponent tries to avoid a Mike Tyson punch. It will inevitably sock me right in the kisser (not in a literal sense) so I might as well just bite the bullet and get to work because she is right. Yes, any rational man would do so…or would they? Again, did I mention I was tired!

Yes, she was right. Indeed, we needed to get back to reality and create some structure at home. Yet, rather than agree with her…I chose to fight it. It was a no win but like a tempestuous, impatient child I didn’t want to win…I just wanted to disagree for the sake of disagreeing! For no other reason than I was tired. I was the dad and I was right (at least in my own mind but in the deepest recesses of my mind I actually knew I was wrong!). Shhh, don’t tell Pamela!

Now when I say “fight it“, I mean I still washed the bathroom floors (our 4-year-old believes hitting the bowl is optional!), began to purge the basement, re-claim her office space that had become our 4th toy room, and did some dishes but I did it all while applying the silent treatment. Now that is leadership! (not).

Leadership or co-leadership is not easy. Never has been…never will be. There are days when the last thing you may want to do is lead! There are times when you want to sit in the back of the bus and watch the street blocks go by! There is nothing wrong with that. Just let the other driver know.

Understand that there are times when you need to be led. Accept being led by another is not a bad thing. Sometimes you need to let someone else grab hold of the steering wheel. Sometimes you need to let someone else look at the map!

So, tonight I find myself needing to re-set my intentions. I am still tired but no so much that I can’t take the time to look in the mirror and remind myself to practice what I preach!

Leadership is not about one person sitting atop the mountain enjoying providence over all but rather an open journey that is built on a foundation of trust, patience, communication and respect. Self-correction is key to your success. Without it, you fall into the trap of simply repeating the same mistakes!

Leaders who do not take the time to look at themselves honestly in the mirror as a tool for self-evaluation are destined to fail. Often times the only one to hold a leader accountable is the leader him or herself. It doesn’t matter if you lead a team of 500 or a team of 5!

Tonight, I will look in the clean mirror (thanks to my work earlier this evening), evaluate my performance and learn from it.

Sleeping on the couch also serves as a great reminder of my need to improve my game! Isn’t it poignant! I am now wide awake and can’t sleep! I should go tidy up the garage!

Ken Evraire is an award-winning leadership coach and team builder. As a former professional athlete, he has learned a from great coaches and learned even more from the bad ones!